Sheil Kapadia

Philly.com

In the same week that Kevin Kolb was awarded a one-year contract extension, reports surfaced that the Raiders were ready to cut ties with JaMarcus Russell.

Why do I mention the two names in the same sentence?

Russell was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. Kolb the 36th.

In three NFL seasons, Russell has a 7-18 record. He's completed just over 52 percent of his passes, throwing 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions for a QB rating of 65.2.

Obviously, Kolb has only two starts under his belt. But I took a look at the other QBs selected in that draft, and if Kolb goes on to have a successful NFL career, chances are he won't have much company from his peers.

Kolb was the third QB off the board in 2007. Brady Quinn went No. 22 to the Browns. We all know how that worked out. Cleveland gave up on him after two seasons, sending Quinn to the Broncos in an offseason trade. Denver went on to select Tim Tebow in the first round this season - either suggesting that they don't see Quinn as a starter in this league, or that they don't know what they're doing.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins selected John Beck out of BYU four picks after Kolb. Beck spent a couple seasons in Miami, before being released and joining the Ravens in a reserve role.

And finally, the Lions took a shot on Drew Stanton at No. 43. Detroit took Matthew Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick two years later.

Five quarterbacks taken among the top 43 picks in the 2007 draft. Two are on their second teams. One is in danger of being released. And a fourth is serving a backup role.

Then there's Kolb. The guy a franchise is entrusting with its future to the tune of over $12M in guaranteed money. The guy who's showed so much promise in practice and limited game action that the Eagles felt content to ship the face of their franchise out of town for a couple draft picks after a decade-long union.

If Kolb goes on to have the kind of career the Eagles clearly think he's going to have, he'll be the only quarterback from the '07 class worth remembering 20 years from now.